Cambrie's Hand Print Crab

My baby girl started daycare (she is currently in her third week) and she is doing well with the transition. Somedays are hard for her (and me), but overall she is loving playing with her friends and is taking in all the child development and social skills that they are teaching her. And, she has successfully completed her first piece of artwork...behold the hand print crab :)

The decision to return to work was a difficult one for my family and I to make with many factors to review over a long period of time. We decided that we needed to do what was best for our family, particularly for my sanity and for Cambrie's development, and are very happy with the outcome. At least for now :)

After months and months of talks, I signed an offer letter to return to Workrite Ergonomics and job share with the employee whose job I temporarily replaced last year when I left Green Valley. I feel very fortunate to have a found a perfect job share match, we think alike, talk alike and have fun together. Plus, our babies have had several playdates and they like one another too. I am working about 17 hours a week (2.5 days) and Cambrie's daycare is 5 minutes from our house on the way into work which is super convenient. My job entails payroll for 100+ employees, all HR related functions such as benefits, performance evaluations, finance reporting and everything else that falls into the HR umbrella.

Today when I called to check up on Cambrie she was playing drums with her friend India and was about to head out for a buggy ride. Love it. Meanwhile I was able to utilize the technical HR side of my brain which I have been yearning to use for months and was loving being back into the office groove. Love it even more. I am still continuing to work at home with photography, but this will give me the opportunity to rejoin to adult world (photography is very isolating since the majority of my time is spent behind my computer) and for Cambrie to have other experiences besides just hanging out with her momma all day.

Workrite just moved into a new office building (what a massive project undertaking to move adminstrative and production staff/inventory/etc) and I really like my new office, feeling a little spoiled with the floor to ceiling windows. I will post pictures soon!

Cambrie on the Four Wheeler

Fourth of July - Part Two

Wow - these pictures are super old, but I still need to share them! They are the last half of the Fourth of July pictures taken on my second camera. Sometimes it gets confusing with so many cameras around :)

Looking at these images it amazes me how much Cambrie has changed in two short months. The first few are from my parents BBQ.

She loves doing 'upside down' baby with her father.

And the remaining images are from Leana and Tyler's BBQ where Cambrie embarked on her first of many four wheeler rides. She was very excited and I was very nervous.

Damon with two of his three girls...

Cambrie looks like she is crying, but she was really happy. She makes this funny noise whenever she experiences something new, I have a video that I will post later this week. It is really funny :)

My baby against the sunset, not sure if there is anything better :)

And, like I said previously, the fireworks show from the top of the hill is spectacular.

Pictures just don't do it justice, so we decided to have some fireworks in the front yard to get a little more up close and personal.

Ryanne was mesmerized by the pretty lights.

Fun times with our fun families :)

Avery and Her Cousin

Avery is super adorable in many many ways. Her little voice is so cute and we love hearing her talk. And she is a talker :)

In Santa Cruz we discovered that one of her new words that she was saying is her own version of 'Cambrie.' On our way home from Capitola I was able to get her on video, as you can see, both of the girls were so excited to be able to have their carseats next to each other in Damon's truck.

Cambrie Laughing

No one, no one, can get Cambrie laughing like Damon can. Please enjoy this lovely video of my baby girl on her six month birthday in Santa Cruz. Isn't she the greatest?

Hunting at the Ranch

Last week after a busy day we headed up to the ranch for a drive around the property to look for deer. Per usual, it was a beautiful drive. But, this time it was even more beautiful since our little girl got to join in on the fun.

She likes riding around the ranch because she gets to ride in the front and help Damon 'drive.'

Up at the top of the hill the sun was setting and my littles ears were filled with stories of our wedding day and other events that have taken place there.

She also tried out Damon's big 'eyes' to check out the mountainside.

But she didn't like it too much :(

When driving on the backside of the lake we noticed a deer eating on the other side and we were able to get some get silhouetted images with its reflection in the lake as well. (Note: These are all unedited and straight out of the camera, I need to pull them into Photoshop and 'enhance' them soon).

Love evenings up at the ranch with my family :)

Santa Cruz - Day Six

These posts are sooo out of order, but at least they aren't completely forgotten. On our last full day in Santa Cruz we once again hung out as a family. It was so nice and relaxing. We also went down to the little sand area in the front of the home and played with Avery. She is adorable in this beach hat!

The sand area was right below the deck and my grandma just couldn't resist not playing with Avery, so she joined us.

And she was such a good sport burying her own feet in the sand like Avery. It gives me so much joy to see her acting just like her great grand daughters. I remember her jumping on a pogostick in her heels in the driveway of my childhood home when I was about 6 years old. What a fun and carefree lady she is!

And then a HUGE wave came and got us all wet so our sand playing time was officially over.

My parents friends happened to also be renting a house in Santa Cruz with their three children and many grandchildren so we got together for drinks and appetizers at their house. It was crazy because they were about 10 houses down from where we stayed - what a coincidence!

There home had an even bigger sand area and Avery was in heaven.

And my little decided to sleep on her stomach and has not really turned back yet. Sigh, she is getting too big. I know, I know, I say this almost every blog post. But, it is true!

On our last morning, which was Friday, we packed up and cleaned the house before making the quick trip home. We decided to stop off at our favorite Mexican restaurant that we would frequent when Alicia lived in San Francisco. It was fun, but I missed Damon and was excited to spend the afternoon and evening with him celebrating our five year anniversary. Overall, it was a lovely vacation and I am so thankful for my grandparents generosity for treating us to a summer beach getaway!